“To buy, please. I’m hoping that you have one between one hundred and fifty and one hundred and seventy five thousand.”
“Let’s have a look.” She carried out a search on her computer and replied, “There are just three properties which come within your price range. The one nearest the canal is actually going for one hundred and eighty thousand.” She turned the screen to face Selmira, allowing her to see the details.
It was on the fourth floor of a nine-storey block of apartments which had been built in the nineties. Her first thought was that it could be noisy from the apartments below and above. The room sizes were okay, but, something about the place did not appear attractive. “What else do you have?”
Selmira was at this agency for about thirty minutes, looking at other available properties. She was determined not to rush such a big decision and visited several other agencies throughout that day.
By the time Selmira had returned to the Premier Inn, she had accumulated many brochures and spent the rest of the day comparing all her options.
First, she narrowed the list down by comparing the prices and excluding those below a hundred and sixty-five thousand and those above one hundred and eighty thousand pounds. Next, she arranged them according to distance from the canal system.
There were just three properties left. Comparing the features of all three, she came to the conclusion that the apartment on the top floor of a four storey block constructed in the nineties was the best option and the price was one hundred and seventy four thousand pounds. There was still time to phone the agent to arrange a viewing. She specified the property she was interested in and asked for an appointment. The agent promised to phone back as soon as possible and, true to her word, called back with a time for a couple of days later.
That night, Selmira decided to colour her hair again, aware that the dark roots were beginning to be a little too visible.
With the next day spare, she checked on the canal cruises and, early in the afternoon, enjoyed the “The country and city” guided tour, passing through Gas Street basin and along the Worcester and Birmingham canal system, commentaries providing interesting historical information on Birmingham’s canal systems. Her experiences on this lovely summer day made her feel more like a tourist, rather than a potential resident.
Next day, she arrived at the seller’s apartment on time and was greeted by a slightly over-enthusiastic male estate agent. The first thing that Selmira wanted to see was the view from the windows. Looking down from the large, picture window she was thrilled to see the canal not too far away. The apartment was, in her opinion, perfect and had no hesitation in making an offer. When Selmira explained that she already had enough to pay cash and was not in any queue, the agent appeared even more enthusiastic. After contacting the owner, he was able to confirm acceptance of the offer.
As Selmira headed back to the hotel, she felt elated that purchasing the apartment had proved so surprisingly easy.
When she entered the entrance hall at the Premier Inn, Marie, the receptionist spotted her, saying, “You are looking very happy, today, Sarah.”
Selmira always found Marie very pleasant natured and decided to tell her the good news. “I’ve just bought an apartment in Birmingham, so I should not be staying here much longer.”
“That’s great news. We’ll be sorry to see you leave here, but I wish you every success in your new home.”
Next day, Selmira transferred most of the cash from three of the banks into the fourth, accumulating enough to cover the cost of the purchase. She was able to do this online, using her new mobile phone, although she was still concerned about transferring such large amounts. Selmira left a couple of thousand pounds in each of the three accounts, while the fourth now had almost two hundred thousand pounds, ready to pay for the apartment. With legal fees and other costs, it would total one hundred and eighty five thousand, leaving enough for her to live on, hopefully, for quite a while.
Still, Selmira knew that she would have to find employment to provide an adequate income over her future years. Once the contract was signed and sealed on the new apartment, she would do her best to find a job.
The only problems Selmira had when signing the paperwork for the purchase were the details of parents and next of kin. She had to think very quickly and declared that her parents, John and Mary Armstrong, had died in a car accident, when she was only five years old. She had been with foster parents for a while, but had forgotten the names and address of the couple who had brought her up, since it had been nearly twenty years since she had last seen them. Selmira was fully aware that the story sounded quite weak, yet she hoped that it would be sufficient to complete the contract. The fact that she was able to pay cash was sufficient for the sale to go through without difficulty and, within a couple of weeks, Selmira was able to move in to the apartment.
Marie, the receptionist at the Premier Inn Hotel was sad to see her check out after a period of over three months staying at the hotel. She wished Selmira every success for the future and had said that, if she ever needed a friend to talk to, then Selmira mustn’t hesitate to get in touch. She thanked her, yet knew that she would, probably, never speak to her again, as she must make new contacts and friends and do her best to bury her past life and all the terrible secrets it contained.
There was some furniture in the apartment, but it was not of particularly good quality. Selmira decided to replace the lumpy bed with a new, double-sized divan with a decent mattress. A dining table, chairs and a couple of storage units were also on the shopping list. Finally, a forty inch flat television fixed on the wall was the last item she felt was just about affordable.
Chapter Eighteen: A new place of her own
The big day arrived and Selmira was able to move into her new apartment. She took her two suitcases, which contained all her worldly possessions and travelled by taxi to the new place, saying a final farewell to Marie and settling the last hotel bill.
During Selmira’s stay at the Premier Inn, she had made certain that her private details were always locked in the suitcases, just in case the room cleaner came across these while tidying the room. Now that Selmira had her own private place, it was not as important, but the downside was that she would now have the responsibility to keep all the rooms clean and tidy without the assistance of others.
She did expect her first night sleeping in the apartment to be a restful one, but, however, this was not to be the case. The nightmare which Selmira experienced, filled her with a deep, nerve-wracking terror. Ivanko was sitting opposite her at the dining table in the apartment. They had been eating a meal of foul-smelling raw steak. Selmira was choking on the putrid meat, while Ivanko appeared to be enjoying his meal. He raised his glass of deep red wine, had a drink and toasted Selmira, the blood-red liquid glistening on his fleshy lips. With a smile, he said, “I hope that you have a great time in your new place, Selmira. As good a time as I had in our house in Sale.”
This vision began to fade, but was soon replaced by another which was, equally disturbing. In this, Selmira was lying, naked, in the bath in the apartment. She was conscious and looking terrified as Ivanko, also naked, stepped into the bath. He was gripping an ice-pick and started moving it towards her neck.
With tears pouring down her face, pleading for her life, she said, “Please, Ivanko. Don’t hurt me.”
His bloody grin was so chilling that she thought her heart would stop beating just from his intense stare. “Don’t worry, Selmira. It won’t take long until you are at complete peace, just like me.” He laughed, a deep, menacing voice, his demonic intention being very obvious to Selmira.